“You see Capitalism is not what so called progressives portray it as today.
Capitalism is an economic system that values individual freedom, property rights and the rule of law – not the rule of the master as in Cuba. Not to mention, hard work, saving, family, ethics and more.”

Capitalism is an economic system as you rightly state. As such it values the free exchange of goods, services, and capital. All of those other values you ascribe to capitalism are only important insofar as they facilitate free exchange. Family bonds, ethical behavior, and to some extent saving, can tend to hinder said free exchange and hence can tend to hinder growth. We have just experienced an impressive period of growth fuelled by unethical behavior and credit spending.

Moreover it is a mistake to equate capitalism with an political system. As the examples of China, Singapore, South Korea illustrate, capitalism can flourish in political systems that have no regard for individual freedoms. Even given all that, 18 months ago I still would have said some sort of regulated market economy is still the best way to go. Now i’m not so sure!

You are right though, the first responsibility of Government in any system is the rule of law. Without that, no economic or social system can be successful.

The embargo is an easy target, and I do not support it. But the embargo is not the sole reason for Cuba’s decline. The main contributor to Cuba’s failure of its people is the economic system. And this is not subject to debate. The facts from around the world speak for themselves.

The so called revolution was robust because Russia was pumping loans and goods into Cuba. Cuba could not repay when Russia had it’s own economic issues which caused a big rift between the two countries at one point. In fact, Russia has had to write them off previously and I read recently in discussions with Cuba about recouping some of their money.

Until Cuba changes it’s economic system, as many countries around the world have found success doing, there is little hope.

Cuban’s have to be allowed to create wealth so they can at least enjoy better living standards. The State does not create wealth.

As you know, I’m not prepared to make excuses for Castro or The Bahamas government failures.

I am certainly not suggesting that everything is “cut and dried”, there are nuances to life. I’m certainly glad I was born here rather than in Cuba, that’s for sure.

Dear Nic Nac:
I thought your post was from Nico or I might not have answered an anonymous post.

However, since we are into it, from what you said we can assume you would be happy with the Bush wire tapping for example?

I prefer to live with some relative freedom and take my chances on calling the police should I need them, rather than having them live in my backyard.

I also prefer having the opportunity to own my own property that I can sell and buy whenever I choose. Cuban’s do not have that choice. If they don’t do right, in the opinion of the regime, they just might not have a house.

I guess you support the stealing of the private property that Castro lead when he took over?

There is no perfect system, but from what I have read and seen, Capitalism leads the pack. Warts and all. And frankly most stories related to me of Bahamian’s going to Cuba is that they go to enjoy the “pleasures” of Cuba – namely the women. Something else the revolution was going to do away with – Prostitution. Remember?

Sorry, I did not mean to imply that Alice Walker emigrated to the US. I was trying to imply that she should emigrate to Cuba if it was all peaches and cream as you imply. I meant though, that Tibor Machan and Paul Hollander left countries that did not allow the freedoms we enjoy.

My view of progressives does fit your analysis and that is my experience. They know what’s best for everyone. I just want everyone to have the opportunity to enjoy the freedoms I do. I do not want to direct their lives. And it’s okay if they want to live as they currently do in Cuba. I don’t think the status quo would remain in Cuba if the people had the opportunity to change it.

Thanks for sharing your links. And since we are sharing links, I have a couple for you:

Fidel Batista: http://www.nassauinstitute.org/articles/article355.php
Bad Cuban Medicine: http://www.nassauinstitute.org/articles/article354.php
Cuba’s Cruel Joke: http://www.nassauinstitute.org/articles/article420.php

Finally, the embargo should be lifted as should Castro’s oppression of his people.

Comfort: Depends on your definition of it.

Citizen Rights:
In an earlier post you asked whether one would like to have the defense force officer listen in on conversations. How you would like it if you noticed a suspicious person eyeing your property. You call the police to report the incident, and you live in a nice neighborhood, and the police never arrive? This happened to a friend of mine in the Bahamas, who lives in an extremely nice neighborhood, called the police panicked at the acts of a suspicious person eyeing her property and the police never arrived. I was at a dinner party and the majority of young Bahamians gathered agreed that this was common practice and suggested that it was common knowledge that the police only arrive if you report something more serious like murder. This happened in a democratic, capitalist, “comfortable” place. I use this example to suggest that there are issues for citizen protection and rights in Cuba but that they potentially exist in many government systems and not just under Castro. I’m guessing we could go back and forth on the ills of Cuban society and the serious issues faced by democratic capitalist ones. I’m also guessing that using simple examples for our specific stance would be rather unproductive if we continued to do so.

Progressives:
You seem to blanket all progressives into thinking that they believe certain things and don’t practice them. I don’t know how you come up with this. Yet I think the progressive “lens” is interested in seeking out a bit more nuance (which I think you describe as irony) in understanding governmental systems, comfort, and the like.
Ms. Walker is American, and I am not sure of which tyrannical regime she left. While I do agree that in some ways she appears to have a strong interest in a global citizenship and not just one that is defined by the nation state, she actually uses her global citizenship to advocate for change for all nations, one that is based on harmony, equality, and sustainable living.
See Alice Walker’s letter to President Clinton in 1996 relating to Cuba and Fidel. http://www.cubasolidarity.net/awalker.html
Also, for those damn progressives: http://judithlevine.com/, http://100milediet.org/book,
http://www.simplelivinginstitute.org

Observable Success: I return to my initial interest in Nicolette’s view that there is something to be said for Cuba’s success in maintaining some observable level of stability. Think of their healthcare: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/5232628.stm, and education: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/the_exchange/cuba.shtml

With Obama’s administration, it will be interesting to see what will happen to Cuba if the U.S. embargo is lifted and families are able to travel. His “progressive” stance on Cuba will alter our discussions for years to come.

Where I would diverge from the Cuban revolution is in the arena of being free to dissent. There we agree. But I would still argue that it’s a favourite tool of capitalists to conflate communism with its totalitarian manifestations alone, ignoring the numerous socialist adaptations that have coexisted with democracy — Canada, Scandinavia, France, Labour Britain, and (just for fun) the first-generation PLP Bahamas all come to mind.

The subject isn’t anywhere as cut and dried as you make it out to be.

Cuba exposes the erroneous belief that material wealth is the sole marker of growth or success. I often wondered how, for example, Alice Walker would advocate that black Cubans under Castro appeared to be content as they maintained lives that allowed them to provide for their daily needs. e.g. organic farming. On the other hand, I would hear a few stories from some of my Bahamian relatives who after their visits to Cuba would often comment on the poor and miserable living conditions of black Cubans. The only way that I make sense of these two distinct accounts is to understand the lens of “success” that each probably wore while in Cuba. Walker as an author practices Buddhism and reflects on the constant injustices faced by people of the world, whereas the relatives are possibly informed by the belief that happiness is based on striving for material abundance.

Your post, regardless of the arguments in the comments above, leads me to think about the rampant materialism and the current global economic crisis faced by some of the capitalist nations. Cuba’s sustainable way of life has evaded chaos and achieved a growth that albeit impossible to measure from a materialistic stance, has maintained an observable level of order, survival, and strength. Thanks!

Regarding the main discussion, I wasn’t aware that I was changing the discussion; I was responding to your second comment, not the first. I can’t speak for Castro or for his promises; I haven’t done enough research across biases to make an informed decision. My sources (which are clearly more Marxist than yours) regard Castro’s regime as having, and continuing to have, popular support, though in the last two decades (the period since the collapse of the Soviet Union) economic and social fatigue has set in. Yours (which are anti-communist) regard Castro as an oppressive dictator whose regime is maintained only by force. I suspect the reality is somewhere in the middle.